UAE-Mubasher: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to approve the inclusion of China’s yuan in its special drawing rights (SDR) basket of elite currencies on Monday.

The IMF executive board is scheduled to meet on Monday to decide on the recommendation by staff experts last month to include the yuan, alongside the U.S. dollar, euro, yen and British pound in the grouping.

While not a freely-traded currency, the SDR is important as an international reserve asset, and because the IMF issues its crisis loans — crucial to struggling economies like Greece — valued in SDRs.

China asked last year for the yuan to be added to the grouping of world reserve currencies, but until recently it has considered too tightly controlled to qualify.